Rotary percussion drilling device



March 20, 1956 w. J. BIELSTEIN 2,738,956

ROTARY PERCUSSION DRILLING DEVICE Filed May 23, 1952 KEYWAY w 25 ll S I FIG. 8.

L4 /26 KEY\ l' I 34 i 2a- VALVE 29- UNIT l 26 .1 2

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INVENTOR. Walfer J. Bielsfein,

ROTARY PERCUSSION DRILLING DEVICE Walter J. Bielstein, Corpus Christi, Tex., .assignor, by mesne assignments, to Esso Research and Engineering Company, Elizabeth, N. .J., a corporation of Delaware Application May 23, 1952, Serial No. 289,531

w Claims. ((31.255-3) The present invention is directed toa device for drilling wells in earth formations. .More particularly, the invention is directed to apparatus for drilling a well in which a jar is transmitted to. a drill bit. In its more specific aspects, the invention is-directed to a drilling device in which a well as drilled in an earth formation by rotating a drill bit while simultaneously causing jars or vibrations on a drill bit. I

The present invention may be described briefly as a device for drilling awell which comprises, in combination, a tubular member adapted to be attachedat its upper end to a hollow drill stem in which an anvil is slidably arranged in the tubular member at a lower end thereof. A drill bit which may be arock bit or one of the fishtail types is connected to the anvil and projects outwardly from the lower end of the tubular member A hammer is arranged longitudinally within the tubular member above the anvil for downward movement thereagainst. Spring means are arranged in the tubular member to bias the hammer in an upward direction. Above the hammer in the tubular member is a rotatable valve means which is slidably arranged in the tubularmember in contact with an upper end of the hammer. V4 The 'valve means is provided with at least one port for passage of drilling fluid through the tubular member and the hammer and thence through the anvil and the drill'bit; The valve is provided with means for rotating same whereby the valve is opened and closed to interrupt the flowof drilling fluid through the apparatus of the present invention to create a water hammer which causes the hammer to hit the anvil and transmit a jar to the drill bit.

The means for rotating the valve member may be built into the valve itself and may include slanting or trans.- versely inclined surfaces on a rotatable element of the valve. This rotatable element is provided with passageways which are alternately opened and closed to cause interruptionof the flow of the drilling fluid. I

The means for rotating theyalve member may also nited States Patent include a rotatable shaft attached to the rotatable valve means carrying a helical vane on which a .slidable plate is mounted on the vane and in the tubularmember. By properly positioning the plate mounted on, the vane, it is possibleto open and'close the rotatable valve means.

The present invention will .be, furtherflunderstood by reference to the drawing in which i Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail viewof the valve element of Fig. l; v I

Fig; 3 is a view looking down on the valve .unit shown in Fig. 2; 1 t

Fig. 4 is a top view of the rotatable valve element shown in Fig. 2; i y

Fig. 5 is a front view of the valve element shown in Fig. 4; I

Fig. 6 is a view insection taken along the lines 6-6 of Fig. 4;'

Patented Mar. 20, 1956 Fig. 7 is a view in section taken of Fig. l; v

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of a modified embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a view looking ,down onjthe synchronizing plate shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a top view of the valve housing unit of Fig. d

Fig. 11 is a top view of the rotatable valve unit shown in Fig. 8. i p

In the several views of the drawing identical numerals will be employed to designate identicallparts.

Referring now to the drawing numeral .11 designates a tubular member which is provided at an intermediate point with an inwardly projecting shoulder 12 and at a along the line 77 point adjacent a lower end with an inwardly projecting key 13.

Arranged adjacent the lower end of the tubular member 11 is an anvil 14 provided with a recess 15in which is a packing or sealing means 16. Threadedly'attached to the anvil 14 by mating threads 17 is a drill sub 18 which, in turn, is threadedly attached by mating threads 18a to a drill bit 19. The drilling sub 18 is provided with a keyway 20 in which the key 13 is slidably arranged.

Arranged above the anvil 14 in tubular member 11 is a hammer 21 provided with a central passageway 22. The hammer 21 is provided with an outwardly projecting shoulder 23 which serves as an upper retainer for a helical coil spring 24, the'bottom end'of which rests on the inwardly projecting shoulder 12 which acts as the lower spring retainer. Arranged in the upper .end of the tubular member 11 is a sleeve 25 in which is slidably arranged a valve piston 26 the lower end of which is attached to the upper end of the hammer 21. vRotatably mounted within the valve piston 26 on shaft 27 is a valve element 28 which is provided with a plurality of ports or passageways 29. Therotatable shaft 27 is designed to rotate freely in bearings 3t and 31. Downward travel of the piston 26 is limited by the downward travel of the hammer 21. It

will be noted that the rotatable valve element 28 is provided with transversely inclined or slanting surfaces 33 whereby the rotatable valve element 28 is rotated as will be described.

It will be seen that the valve piston 26 is provided with ports 34 through which drilling fluid may pass and that the anvil 14, the sub 18 and the drill bit 19 define a passageway 35 which connects to passageway 22 for passage of drilling fluid downwardly from the drill stem to which the member 11 is adapted to be attached at an upper end thereof by means, not shown.

While in the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 7 theapparatus is illustrated as being attached to a drill bit 19 through the drill sub 18, it is to be understood that I may attach the drill bit 19 directly to the anvil 14 and'that the sub 18 may be considered an integral part of the drill bit 19.

Referring now to Figs. 8 to 10, a different valve and rotatable means therefor will be-described. Referring now to Fig. 8, a valve piston 50 is slidably arranged by way of keys and keyways within a sleeve 51 which, in turn, is fixed in the tubular member 11. The valve piston 50 is attached to the hammerwith its lower end in contact with the upper end of the hammer 21 as in the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 7: piston 50 is a rotatable valve element 52 which is provided with a plurality of ports '53. The rotatable valve member 52 is attached by key 54' to a shaft 54 which is Arranged within the valve.

pin 57a which limits the down travel of bar 57 as it is pulled through synchronizing plate 58 by downward movement of valve piston 50.

The tubular member 11 in this embodiment of my invention defines inwardly projecting shoulders 61 and 62 above and below the plate 58. Bearing against the plate 58 and tending to urge same in an upward direction is a coil spring 63, the lower end of which rests on the inwardly projecting shoulder 61. Bearing against the plate 58 and tending to urge it downwardly is a second coil spring 64, the upper end of which is retained by inwardly projecting shoulder 62.

The apparatus of the present invention operates in the following manner with respect to Figs. 1 to 7. Assuming drilling operations to be proceeding and that the tubular member 11 is attached to a rotating hollow drill stern and drilling fluid is being circulated downwardly through the drill stem of the apparatus of the present invention, the flow of drilling fiuid against the slanting surfaces or transversely inclined surfaces 33 causes the rotatable valve member 28 to rotate. By rotation of the valve element 28 the ports 34 of the piston member 26 are alternately opened and closed. In the closed position the How of drilling fluid is at least partially interrupted by virtue of restricting the flow which causes a force to be exerted downwardly on the rotary valve piston 26 which, in turn, exerts a force on the hammer 21 which causes it to strike against the anvil 14 and creates a jar on the bit 19. By virtue of the rapid flow of the drilling fluid down through the drill stem and the tubular member 11 and by virtue of the rotation of the rotatable element 28 a water hammer effect is created which results in substantially the entire force of the drilling fluid being imposed against the rotary valve piston 26 which, in turn, imposes its force on the hammer which causes rapid striking of blows against the anvil 14. Upward travel of the hammer 21 results when ports 34 in the piston 26 begin opening. The action of the spring 24 plus rebound of the hammer 21 from the anvil 14 throws the hammer 21 upwardly. By the percussion effect created by the striking of hammer 21 against the anvil 14 the bit 19 is caused to penetrate the earth formations more readily than heretofore since besides a rotary cutting effeet a crushing of the formation in contact with the cutting edges of thebit is effected.

The apparatus of Figs. 8 to operates in a somewhat similar manner which will be described as follows:

Drilling fluid is being pumped down through the tubu lar member 11 which is attached by means not shown to a hollow drill stem which causes the piston valve member to be pushed downwardly. This results in the rotation of the shaft 54 and the helical vane 57 to an open position ona 90 turn which synchronizes the rotatable member 52 with the ports 65 of the piston valve member 50. Opening of the ports 65 and rebound of the hammer 21 allows the spring 24 to push the valve piston 50 up to the starting position which again results in the closing of the valve by the rotatable member 52 being in position to restrict the flow through the passageways 65 resulting in the sequence of operations being repeated. Overtravel of the hammer 21 is provided for by mounting the spider synchronizing plate 58 in a key way 59 and spring loadingthe plate 58 in both directions to resist upward and downward forces. With respect to Figures 8, 9, l0 and 11, the helical vane 57, being of a shape other than round so that rotation in the slot in the plate 58 is impossible, is fixed to the rotatable valve element 52 by the shaft 54. The vane 57 extends through the slot in the plate 58, the slot being of the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the vane 57 but somewhat larger. The plate 58 is slidably mounted on the tubular member 11 by the spheres 60 in the keyways 59. As pressure is applied to the drill stem, the piston 50 is forced downwardly and as the helical section of the vane 57 passes through the plate 58 rotation of the valve 52 is effected in a clockwise direction and toward full open position. The amount or degree of rotation will be govcrned by the amount of the helical section on the vane 57 passing through the slot in the plate 58 and the amount or degree of pitch in the helical section. The desired amount of rotation will depend on the number of openings and the area of openings in the piston 50. The velocity ports 53 in the member 52 are designed to sustain circulation while the valve 52 is in the closed position and to allow the apparatus to be started. After the piston 59 has travelled downwardly, the hammer 21 has struck the anvil 14 and the valve 52 is rotated to the open position. The reaction of the hammer face and the reaction of the spring 24 combine to move the hammer 21 upwardly which causes left-hand rotation of the valve 52 as the vane 57 passes through the slot in the plate 58. Upward travel continues until the energy in spring 24 and in the hammer face is spent. At this point, the valve 52 is either in a closed or near closed position and the fluid pressure and velocity causes the piston 50 to reverse its direction of travel. A series of blows is thus transmitted through the piston 50 to the hammer 21 and against the anvil 14 and, in turn, to bit 19 allowing the formation to be pierced more readily than heretofore.

It is to be understood in the description taken with the several figures of the drawing that the flow of drilling fluid is never entirely cut off but is only interrupted but this interruption is suflicient to cause a hammer effect to be transmitted against the drill bit as has been described.

The nature and objects of the present invention having been completely described and illustrated, what I wish to claim as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device for drilling wells which comprises, in combination, a tubular member adapted to be attached at its upper end to a hollow drill stem, a tubular anvil slidably arranged in said tubular member at the lower end thereof, a drill bit connected to said anvil projecting outwardly from the lower end of said tubular member, a hammer arranged longitudinally within said member for downward movement against said anvil and having a passage therethrough, means normally biasing said hammer upwardly, a rotatable valve means comprising a piston member slidably arranged in said tubular member and attached to the upper end of said hammer and provided with at least one port for passage of drilling fluid through said valve and hammer, a rotatable shaft attached to said rotatable valve means carrying a helical vane, a plate provided with at least one passageway slidably mounted on said vane and in said tubular member, and first and second biasing means bearing against said plate normally urging same in an upward and downward direction, interruption of flow of drilling fluid through said rotatable valve means causing said piston member to overcome said first mentioned biasing means to cause said hammer to strike said anvil and transmit a jar to said drill bit.

2. A device for drilling wells which comprises, in combination, a tubular member provided with an inwardly projecting shoulder adapted to be attached at its upper end to a hollow drill stem, an anvil slidably arranged in said tubular member at the lower end thereof, a drill bit connected to said anvil projecting outwardly from the lower end of said tubular member, a hammer arranged longitudinally within said member for downward movement against said anvil provided with an outwardly projecting shoulder spaced vertically from said inwardlly projecting shoulder and having a passage therethrough, spring means embracing said hammer and arranged b tween said shoulders normally biasing said hammer upwardly, a rotatable valve means comprising a piston member slidably arranged in said tubular member and attached to the upper end of said hammer provided with at least one port for passage of drilling fluid through said valve and hammer, a shaft attached to said rotatable valve means carrying a helical vane, a plate provided with at least one passageway slidably mounted on said vane and in said tubular member, and first and second biasing means bearing against said plate normally urging same in an upward and downward direction, interruption of flow of drilling fluid through said rotatable valve means causing said piston member to overcome said spring means to cause said hammer to strike said anvil and transmit a jar to said drill bit.

3. A device for drilling wells which comprises. in combination, a tubular member adapted to be attached at its upper end to a hollow drill stem, an anvil slidably arranged in said tubular member and connected at the lower end thereof to a sub, a drill bit connected to said sub and projecting outwardly from the lower end of said tubular member, a hammer arranged longitudinally within said member for downward movement against said anvil and having a passage therethrough, spring means normally biasing said hammer upwardly, a rotatable valve means comprising a piston member slidably arranged in said tubular member attached to the upper end of said hammer and provided with at least one port for passage of drilling fluid through said valve and hammer, a shaft attached to said rotatable valve means carrying a helical vane, and a plate provided with at least one passageway slidably mounted on said vane and in said tubular memher, said tubular member being provided with a key on a lower end thereof slidably arranged in a keyway on said sub, interruption of fiow of drilling fluid through said rotatable valve means causing said piston member to overcome said spring means to cause said hammer to strike said anvil and transmit a jar to said drill bit.

4. A device for drilling wells which comprises, in combination, a tubularmember adapted to be attached at its upper end to a hollow drill stem, an anvil slidably arranged in said tubular member at the lower end thereof, a drill bit connected to said anvil projecting outwardly from the lower end of said tubular member, a hammer arranged longitudinally within said member for downward movement against said anvil and having a passage therethrough, means normally biasing said hammer upwardly, a rotatable valve means comprising a piston member slidably arranged in said tubular member attached to the upper end of said hammer provided with at least one port for passage of drilling fluid through said valve and hammer, a shaft attached to said rotatable valve means carrying a helical vane, and a plate provided with at least one passageway slidably mounted on said vane and in said tubular member for rotating said valve means whereby flow of drilling fluid through said tubular member is interrupted and a jar is transmitted to said drill bit by said piston member overcoming said biasing means to cause said hammer to strike said anvil.

5. A device for drilling wells which comprises, in combination, a tubular member provided with an inwardly projecting shoulder at an intermediate point adapted to be attached at its upper end to a hollow drill stem and having a key on a lower end thereof, an anvil slidably arranged in said tubular member at a lower end thereof, a drill bit connected to said anvil projecting outwardly from the lower end of said tubular member provided with a keyway in which said key is slidably arranged, a hammer arranged longitudinally within said member for downward movement against said anvil having a passage therethrough and having an outwardly projecting shoulder spaced vertically from said inwardly projecting shoulder, a spring embracing said hammer and arranged between said shoulders normally biasing said hammer upwardly, a rotatable valve means comprising a piston member slidably arranged in said tubular member attached to the upper end of said hammer and provided with at least one port for passage of drilling fluid through said valve and hammer, a shaft attached to said rotatable valve means carrying a helical vane, a plate provided with at least one passageway slidably mounted on said vane and in said tubular member, and first and second biasing means bearing against said plate normally urging same in an upward and downward direction, interruption of flow of drilling fluid through said rotatable valve means causing said piston member to overcome said spring to cause said hammer to strike said anvil and transmit a jar to said drill bit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 198,610 Harrison Dec. 25, 1877 701,391 Pruszkowski June 3, 1902 1,132,063 Bardeen Mar. 16, 1915 2,584,978 Bassinger Feb. 12, 1952 2,608,184 Bergen Aug. 26, 1952 

